Clothes wringer



Feb. 6, 1940. WATTS 2,189,747

CLOTHES WRINGER Filed Dec. 14, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor: Noble H- Watts,

y aawm Attorney.

Feb. 6, 1940.

Noble H. Watts,

His'Attorne g.

Patented Feb. 6, 1940 f PATENT OFFICE CLOTHES wnmenn.

Noble u. was, Bridgeport, com, assignot to General Electric Company, a corporation of- New York Application December 14, 1934, Serial No. 757,510

23 Claims. My invention relates to clothes wringers of the type suitable for domestic use in conjunction with washing machines, and the like.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved construction and arrangement in a wringer of this type which provides feeding rolls for feeding material to the pressure rolls and which provides a convenient arrangement for controlling the pressure between the pressure rolls. For a consideration of what I believe to be novel and my invention, attention is directed to the accompanying description and the claims appended thereto. I

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a wringer embodying my invention partly in section on line l--l of Fig. 4 and partly broken away; Fig. 2 is an end elevation partly broken away showing the rolls in neutral position; Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig- 2 0 showing the position of the rolls and operating lever at the instant pressure is established between the pressure rolls; Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the position of the rolls and a the operating lever after the operating lever'has been released; Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on carried in a frame which comprises a channelshaped cross member I arranged at the Yower end of the frame with downwardly extending flanges, and vertical side frames 2 which are secured to either end of the cross frame. Secured to one of the side frames is a casing 3 which contains suitable gears for driving the .wringer rolls. Casing 3 is provided with a depending tubular portion 4 through which a shaft for driving the gears is adapted to extend. The tubular portion 4 may be placed on the wringer post of a domestic washing machine. The side frames 2 are enclosed by cover plates 5. v

The lower wringer roll 6 which is suitably driven in any desired manner from the gearing contained in the casing 3, comprises a metal rod 1 having a cylindrical bodyv 8 of rubber molded thereon. The rod I projects beyond each end of the rubber roll and provides shaft extensions 9. The shaft extensions are rotatablysupported in cylindrical bearing housings ill by rolls H which are arranged between the shaft extensions and the housings. The housings III are held in place by snap rings l2 which fit in grooves l3 in the shaft and which rest against shoulders It on the housings. 'Ihe rolls are lubricated by a suitable grease packed in the housings. The bearing housings I!) rest at the bottom of vertical slots l5 formed in each of the side frames 2. The upper ends of the slots ii are open so that the roll 6 may be lifted from the slots when the wringer is disassembled. Roll 6 acts as one of the pressure or wringing rolls of the wringer.

The pressure on the roll 6 is derived from ten-' sion members l6 which are located in the space between the side frames 2 and the cover plates 5. The lower end of each tension member-slidably extends through a slot ll in the web of the cross frame I and is provided with a horizontal slot I8. Each end [9a of a leaf spring is projects through one of the slots l8. The ends l9a are slightly hooked to hold the ends in place. The middle of the spring bears against the under, side .of the web of the cross frame I, and the spring isarranged so that the tension members l6. are urged downwardly. The lower ends of the tension members l6 are guided by the slots II in the cross frame. The upper ends of the tension members are guided by grooves 20 formed in cars -2| which are -integral with the side frames 2.v This is more clearly shown in Fig. 7. Stops 22 are provided on the tension members above the ears 2| which engage the ears 2| and limit'the downward movement of the tension members. At the top of the tension members are concave cam surfaces 23a and 23b which face the lower roll 6.

On either side of the upper end of the tension member I6 are two adjacent rolls 24a and 24b. These rolls are laterally movable with respect to the'lower roll 6 and are rotatably supported in bearing housings Illa and lb of the same construction as bearing housings Ill. The lateral movement of rolls 24a and 24b is guided by guid-- ing surfaces 25 which are formed on the side frames 2. These guiding surfaces are shaped so that when either of the rolls 24a or 2412 rests on the guiding surfaces, the rolls are held out of contact with the roll 6. Theguiding surfaces also guide the movement of the bearing housings Illa and. lb of the upper rolls under the cam surfaces 23a and 231). In Fig. 2, the rolls 24a and 241) are shown in the neutral position in which there is no pressure between either of the upper rolls and the roll 8. In Figs. .3 and 4, there is no pressure between the roll 24b and the roll 6, and the roll 24a is shown under the cam surface 230. on the tension member l8 and is forced by the tension member against the lower roll to provide pressure or wringing rolls. The rdlls 24a and 24b are held against the guiding surface by a resilient band of rubber which is removably secured at either end to pins 21 projecting from the side frames 2. The rubber band 26 is of channel-shaped section arranged with the web at the outer surface and with inwardly projecting flanges. The force from the band 26 is transmitted to the rolls 24a and 24b through plates 28a and 282) which are riveted to the inner surface of the band 26 and which are pivoted on the cylindrical bearing housings Illa and lllb of rolls 24a and 24b. With this arrangement, the inner surface of the band 26 does not come in direct contact with the surface of the upper rolls. Band 26 also acts as a guard to guide the clothes through the wringer.

The bearing housings "la and lb of the rolls 24a. and 24b are moved into and out of engagement with the cam surfaces 23a and 23b by operating levers 29 pivoted on the bearing housings ID at either end of the lower ,roll 6. The upper ends of these levers extend a convenient distance beyond the upper end of the frameof the wringer and are connected by a handle bar 30. The lower ends of the levers 29 are in-turned at 3| and project through slots 32 in the side walls 33 of a drain board 34. 'At the center of the side walls 33 of the drain board arewertical slots 35' which are open at the upper end and through which the bearing housings IU of the roll 6 project. The drain board is pivoted on the bearing housings III by the levers 29 which engage ears 33a on the side walls of the drain board. The drain board is supported during the pivotal movement by thein-turned ends 3| of the levers 29. The slots 32 in the side walls of the drain board are longer than the in-turned ends of the levers 29 so that there is a lost motion connection between the drain board and the operating levers 29. This permits springs 39 connected between the side frames 2 and the lower ends of levers 29 to return handle bar 39 to a position above the center of the wringer-frame when the handle bar is released. The side walls 33 of the drain board are set inwardly at 36, as shown in Fig. 6, so that the drain board clears the elastic band 26 during its tilting movement. Pins 31, which are secured to the said frames 2, hold the elastic band out of contact with the drain board during the tilting movement of the drain board. Secured to the center of the drain board is a transverse bar which reinforces the drain board and prevents wrapping of clothes around the lower roll. Drain openings 4| are provided in this bar.

On either side of the vertical slot 35, the side walls 33 of the drain board are provided with fingers 38a and 38b which project between the bearing housings Illa and 10b of the upper rolls 24a and 2412. On the other side of the bearing housings Illa. and lllb, the side walls of the drain board are provided with fingers 39a. and 39b which are spaced from the fingers 38a and 38b by a distance equal to approximately twice the diameter of the bearing housings la and [0b. When the drain board is tilted by the movement of the operating levers 29, these fingers engage the bearing housings of the up r rolls and move the bearing housings into "and out of engagement with the cam surfaces 23a and 23b on the tension members l6. 4 r

For the purpose of describing the operation of the .wringer, assume that the rolls are in the neutral position, 'as shown in Fig. 2. In this position, the guiding surfaces 25 hold the upper 'rolls 24a and 241) out of contact with the lower roll 6, and'the drain board is in the horizontal position. To use the wringer, the operating levers 29 are pivoted to one side or the other of the lower roll 6. In Fig. 3, the operating levers 29 are shown pivoted to the left of the lower roll 6. This movement causes the drain board to pivot to the left about the bearing housing 10 of the lower roll, and the fingers 38b and 39a on the side walls of the drain board move the upper wringer rolls 24b and 24a to the position indicated. In this position, the bearing housing I00, of the upper roll 24a is forced under the cam surface 23a of the tension member l6, and a wringing pressure is produced between this roll and the lower roll 6. When the handle is in this postion, roll 24?) is out of contact with both of the other rolls. The handle bar 30 for the operating levers 29 is now released, and the elastic band 26 moves the roll 24b against the roll 24a and moves the drain board to the position shown in Fig. 4. The centering springs 39, which are attached to the lower ends of the operating levers 29, center the operating levers with respect to the frame, returning the .handle 30 in a position above the center of the frame where it does not interfere with the feeding of clothes to the rolls 24a and 24b. The wringer is now in condition for wringing. When the lower roll 6 is rotated in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 3, by any suitable means, the upper roll 24a which is held against the lower roll by the tension member IE will be frictionally driven by the lower roll, and clothes which are fed between these rolls will be wrung from left to right. The elastic band 26 holds the rolls 24a and 24b in frictional engagement, and these rolls provide feeding rolls for feeding the clothing to the wringing rolls. In the construction shown, the feeding rolls are at the top of the wringer frame so that the clothing may be fed to the wringing rolls by placing it on top of one of the rolls 24a or 24b. The elastic 'band 26 maintains a pressure which is suitable for frictional drive of the feeding rolls, but which is insufficient to injure the operator if the operators hand is placed between the feed rolls. If roll 24b is separated from the roll 24a. enough to bring the bearing housings IOb against the side frames at 25a, the roll 240. will be' forced from under the cam surface 230, and the band 26 will return the rolls and drain board to the neutral position shown by Fig. 2. This provides a release in case the operator's hand or clothes of too great thickness are placed between the feed rolls. The cam surface 23a on the tension member is formed so that if during wringing, the force required to pull the clothes through the wringing rolls becomes too great due to a sudden increase in the thickness of the clothes or to an attempt to wring too great a thickness of clothes, the bearing housings of the upper wringing roll 24a will be moved from under the cam surfaces 23a thereby releasing. the pressure between the wringing rolls and ,rendering the wringing rolls ineffective. If clothes wrap around the lower roll, the pressure against bar 40 will cause the drain board to tilt and move roll 24a from under cam surface 23a and return the upper rolls to the neutral position.

The rolls 24a. and 242) are returned to the neutral position by pushing 'the handle 36 to the right, as viewed in Fig. 4. This tilts the drain board to the right and causes the finger 38a on the drain board to move the bearing, housing Illa of roll 24a out of engagement with the cam surface 23a.

If it is desired to use the wringer for wringing clothes from right to left as viewed in Fig. 4, the handle 30 is moved still further to the right and the bearing housing lllb of the roll 24b will be moved under the cam surface 231: by finger 39b, and when the handle is released, the roll 24a will be held against the roll 24b to provide feeding rolls. Roll 6 is rotated incounterclockwise direction for this direction of wringing. What I claim as'new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is: i

1. A wringer comprising a frame, a roll rotatably carried in said frame, a pairof rolls adjacent said first roll, means for alternatively pressing one of said adjacent rolls against said first roll to provide wringing rolls, and means for pressing the other adjacent roll against one of said wringing rolls to provide rolls for feeding material to said wringing rolls. 2. A wringer comprising a frame, a roll rotatably carried in said frame, a pair of. rolls ad-- jacent and above said first roll, means for alternatively pressing one of said adjacent rolls vagainst said first roll to provide wringing rolls,

and means urging said adjacent rolls together for providing feeding rolls to feed material to said wringing rolls. a

3. A wringer comprising a frame, a roll rotatablycarried in said frame, a pair of rolls ad-' jacent said first roll, means for alternatively pressing one of said adjacent rolls against said first roll to provide wringing rolls, and means including a resilient band surrounding said adjacent rolls for pressing the other adjacent roll against one of said wringing rollsgto provide rolls for feeding'material to said wringing rolls, 4. A wringer comprising a frame, a roll rotatably carried in said frame, a pair of rolls adjacent said first roll laterally movable relative thereto, guiding surfaces for guiding the lateral movement of said adjacent rolls relative to said first roll, means for holding said adjacent rolls against said guiding surfaces, means for altern'atively pressing one of said adjacent rolls against said first roll to provide wringing rolls, and means urging said adjacent rolls together for providing feeding rolls to feed material to said wringing rolls.

' 5. A wringer comprising a frame, a roll rotatably carried in said frame, a pair of rolls adjacent said first roll laterally movable relative thereto, guiding surfaces for guiding the lateral movement of said adjacent rolls relative to said first roll, means for alternatively pressing one of said adjacent rolls against said first roll to provide wringing rolls, and means including a band of resilient material surrounding said adjacent rolls for holding said adjacent rolls against the guiding surfaces and for urging said adjacent rolls together to provide feeding rolls to feed material to said wringing rolls.

6. A wringer comprising a frame, a roll rotatably carried in the frame, members at the ends of the roll having cam surfaces facing the roll, means for resiliently urging said members and said roll towards each other, means for guiding the relative movement of said members and said roll toward and away from each other, a pair of movable rolls adjacent saidfirst roll, said movable rolls having projecting journals, means for alternatively moving one of the movable rolls laterally and forcing its journals under said cam surfaces to press the rolls together and providing wringing rolls, guiding surfaces engaging said journals for guiding the lateral movement of the movable rolls relative to the first roll, means including a band of resilient material for holding the journals of said movable rolls against said guiding surfaces, and mearTs including said resilient band for pressing the other movable roll against one of said wringing rolls to provide rolls for feeding material to said'wringing rolls.

7. A wringer comprising a frame, a roll rotatably carried in the frame, members at the ends of the roll having cam surfaces facing the roll, means for resiliently urging said members and said roll towards each other, means for guiding the relative movement of said members and said rolltoward and away from each other, a movable roll having projecting journals, means for moving the movable roll laterally and forcing its journals under said cam surfaces to press the rolls together, a tiltable drain board, and means operated by said drain board for moving the journals of said movable roll from under said cam surfaces to release the pressure between said rolls.

8. A wringer comprising a frame, a pair of rolls rotatably carried in the frame, means including a movable member for pressing the rolls together, a lever for moving said member to eflect pressure between the rolls, and mean's for resiliently centering said lever with respect to the frame, and a lost motion connection between said lever and said member for permitting the return of the lever to the central position without said roll towards. each other, means for guiding the relative movement of said members and said roll toward and away from each other, a movable roll having projecting journals, means including a tiltable member having parts on either side of said movable roll for moving said movable roll laterally and forcing its journals under said cam surfaces to press the rolls together, a lever having a lost motion connection with said tiltable member for tilting said member, and means for resiliently centering said lever with respect to the frame.

10. A wringer comprising a frame, a roll rotatably carried in said frame, a pair of rolls adjacent saidfirst roll, means for alternatively pressing one of said adjacent rolls against said first roll to provide wringing rolls, and means for pressing the other adjacent roll against one of said wringing rolls to provide rolls for feeding material to said wringing rolls, and means dependent upon a predetermined separation of said feeding rolls for rendering said wringing rolls inefiective.

11. In a clothes wringer, a control lever biased to a central position, means operated by movement of the control lever from the central position toward the operator for rendering the wringer effective to wring material from the side facing the operator, the connection between said control lever and said means permitting the control lever to return to the central position after being released by the operator, and means op- 12. In a clothes wringer, a control lever biased to a central position, means operated by movement of the control lever from the central position for rendering the wringer effective, the con- I to a central position, means operated by move ment of the control lever from the central position toward the operator for rendering the wringer effective to wring material from the side facing the operator, a lost motion connection between said control lever and said means permitting the control lever to return to the central position after being released by the operator, and

means operated by movement of the control lever from the central position away from the operator for rendering said wringer ineffective.

14. In a wringer, three rolls, means for alternatively effecting engagement of one of said rolls and one of the two remaining rolls to provide wringing rolls, and means for efiecting engagement of the other remaining roll and one of said wringing rolls for providing feeding rolls to feed material to said wringing rolls.

15. In a wringer, a roll, a pair of rolls adjacent said first roll, means for alternatively effecting engagement of said first roll and one of said adjacent rolls to provide wringing rolls, and means including a resilient band surrounding said adjacent rolls for pressing the other adjacent roll against one of said wringing rolls to provide feeding rolls to feed material to said wringing rolls.

16. In a wringer, a roll, a pair of rolls adjacent said first roll, means for alternatively effecting engagement of said first roll and one of said adjacent rolls to provide wringing rolls, means for effecting engagement of the other adjacent roll and one of said wringing rolls to provide feeding rolls to feed material to said wringing rolls, and means dependent upon separation of said feeding rolls'for rendering said wringing rolls ineffective.

17. In a wringer, a pair of rolls, means for pressing the rolls together, one of said rolls being movable laterally with respect to the other roll to a position releasing the pressure between the rolls, and means offering a limited resistance to the lateral movement of the movable roll in t e direction of travel of the clothes through the rolls whereby the pressure between the rolls is released upon excessive load.

18. In a wringer, a pair of rolls, means for pressing the rolls together, and means responsive to the lateral force exerted on one of said rolls by the material passing between the rolls in the direction of movement of the material for effecting release of the pressure between the rolls.

19. In a wringer, a pair of rolls, means for 5 pressing the rolls together, a tiltable drainboard having a part adjacent one of said rolls which will be engaged by material wrapped around the adjacent roll and effect tilting of the drainboard, and means operated by tilting of the drainboard l for rendering the wringer ineffective.

20. In a wringer, a pair of rolls, a control lever biased to a central position, means operated by movement of the control lever from the central position for effecting the building up of 1 pressure between the rolls, the connections between said control lever and said means permitting the control lever to return to the central position upon being released by the operator, and means operated by subsequent movement of the control lever from the central position for effecting release of the pressure between said rolls.

21. In a wringer, a pair of rolls, means for pressing the rolls together, a tiltable drainboard movable to a position to drain liquid toward the side from which the material is being wrung and having a part adjacent one of said rolls which will be engaged by material wrapped around the adjacent roll and efi'ect tilting of the drainboard toward a position draining liquid toward the 3 opposite side of the wringer, and means operated by said last tilting of the drainboard for rendering the wringer ineffective.

22. In a wringer, a pair of rolls, means for pressing the rolls together, a tiltable drainboard 3 having a normal position during wringing draining liquid toward the side from which material is being wrung and having a part adjacent one of said rolls which will be engaged by material wrapped around the adjacent roll and move the drainboard from said normal position, and means operated by movement of the drainboard from said normal position for rendering the wringer ineffective.

23. A wringer comprising a frame, three rolls carried by said frame with one roll contacting each of the other two to establish a pair of roll bites, means to apply wringing pressure at either roll bite desired, a drainboard, and means to simultaneously apply pressure at the desired roll bite and to shift said drainboard to discharge liquid wrung from material passing through the wringer on the side of the wringer opposite the pressure roll bite.

' NOBLE H. WATTS. 

